carpenter



F. W. CARPENTER; Toy Railway-Train.

No. 227,956; Patente dhMay 25,1880.

NJEIERS. FHOTO-LITNOGRAPNER. WA

FRANCIS CARPENTER, OF. RYE, NEW YORK.

TOY RAILWAY-TRAIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 227,956, dated May 25, 1880.

Application filed October 1, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, FRANCIS W. CARPENTER, of Rye, Westchester county, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Railway-Trains, of which the following is a specification.

My invention aims to provide an attractive and amusing form of toy railway-train, which will be at the same time cheap and of a simple and durable construction,capable of easy management by children, and proof against the usual violence of careless play; and one fea ture of my invention may be stated to consist in constructing the cars of the train in an open box form, adapted to receive freight and formed in one piece of cast metal.

The invention also consists in the manner of coupling the cars of the train and in the mode of holding the freight thereon, as hereinafter fully set forth.

Figure l of the annexed drawings presents aside elevation of my toy railway-train, showing a locomotive and two cars. sents a plan view thereof.

The body of the locomotive and also the body of the cars are formed of cast metal, preferably cast-iron. The wheels of the locomotive and cars are also preferably made of cast-iron but the wheels may also be made of wood, and the wheels, whether of wood or iron, may be tired with a rubber ring to render their motion noiseless, if desired.

The locomotive is formed of two hollow halves, each half being cast in one piece, as thin as practicable, and riveted together at a and at any other convenient point, an eye being formed at c for the attachment of a string by which the train may be drawn along the floor.

The body of the car is made in an open box form, so as to be capable of carrying various Fig. 2 represmall articles or toy freight, and a short plat form, d, projects from 'each end of the body, which is perforated with a hole to receive the coupling. Short lugs e 0 also project from the bottomof the car to form the bearings or boxes for the axles, and these lugs are drilled through to receive the axles, which are preferably made of iron wire, on which thewheels are retained by riveting the ends of the wire in the usual manner.

The entire car-body,including the box-body, the end platforms, and bearing-lugs e e, is cast in one piece in ordinary cast-iron, by which, as will be observed, a toy of great strength is secured, rendering it quite durable and capable of sustaining, without appreciable injury, all the usual shocks of play, while at the same time the construction is rendered inexpensive and neat. I

Another advantage of this construction is, that the weight of the car renders it much more stable, enabling itto run with more regularity and with greater speed when drawn by the child, without danger of tipping over or getting out of position, as is the case with wooden or sheet-tin toys.

The coupling consists of a wire staple, f, the prongs of which are dropped vertically intothe vertical holes through the end platforms, as illustrated, which is a very cheap,

simple, and easily-managed device, well adapted for childrens use, and has the further advantage of allowing the train to turn a sharp corner without upsetting the cars.

To hold toy freight on the cars I prefer to provide the cars with upright rods or strong wires 9 g, rising out of the bottom of the boxbody, and either fixedly or removably secured in holes bored in the bottom, as illustrated. These rods are thus adapted to receive common empty spools; but I prefer to provide, in connection with the car, perforated wooden blocks h h, marked to represent packages of freight, as shown, thus rendering the toy more amusing and attractive, and forming a simple and secure means of holding the freight in the car.

By this construction it will be observed that I provide a toy railway-train of an improved character, which, while being neat and attractive, is capable of being sold at a cheap price, and is easily managed by children, and, moreover, is proof against the usual carelessness or violence which soon destroys ordinary toys.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a toy railroad-car, the car-body an, open at the top, provided at the bottom with side bearing-lugs, e e, for the axles, and having end platforms, d, all said parts being cast in one piece, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. A toy railway-train consisting of a 1000- motive and a series of freight-ears, the bodies of which are open at the top and provided at the bottom with side bearing lugs for the axles, and perforated end platforms, all said 5 parts of the cars being cast in one piece, and

said ears being connected by staples, substantially as described and shown.

3. The combination, With a toy car, of the Vertical rods 9 and perforated blocks h h,

adapted to rest upon said rods and represent 10- freight, substantially as herein shown and described.

FRANCIS W. CARPENTER. Witnesses:

EDWARD H. WALEs, J OHN E. GAVIN. 

